The Dutch company Van Oord - Bam will be in charge of dredging about 220 thousand cubic meters of sand and silt in the port terminal of Moín in Limón, Costa Rica.

In order to allow the transit of ships with larger drafts, the Port Administration and Economic Development Board of the Atlantic Coast (Japdeva), signed a contract for the dredging work, which will take about three months and should be done at the same time as the operation of the port terminal.

The operator of the port of Limón in Costa Rica, is seeking to diversify its business focusing on conventional cargo handling, in order to compensate for the losses it will face when APM Terminals 's container port comes into operation.

Serving as port of departure for more Nicaraguan exporters and transporting more iron and vehicles are two of the objectives that make up the strategy envisioned by Japdeva, the concessionaire of the port of Moín, in Limón, which they intend to follow over the next few years.

For the period 2017/18 the arrival of 240 thousand tourists is expected aboard 115 cruise ships to the port of Limón, which represents a 4.5% increase over the previous season.

December 30 will be the day with the greatest influx of tourists along this route, as 7 thousand passengers are expected to arrive on board three ships, according to the schedule set out by the Port Administration and Economic Development Board of the Atlantic Slope. The season began on October 11 and will end in May 2018.

The union of shipowners and steam ship agents in Costa Rica has expressed its opposition to the decision by Japdeva to close one of the berths in Puerto Moin for two months.

The National Chamber of Shipowners and Steamship Agents (NAVE), have questioned Japdeva's decision to close one of the berths between November 7 and January 31, arguing that it is"... the worst time, it is the season in which there is the most exports of fruit and at the end of the yearis when there is the most imports of different products. "

The productive sector is asking the Solís government not lift the ban on the labor law allowing the suspension of essential services during worker strikes.

From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations in the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):

The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations in the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) has requested that the President, Luis Guillermo Solís, not lift the ban on the Reform of the Code Labour, record 15,990; on the eve of Saturday December 13, the expiry date of the four-year term for the project.

Union members went on strike indefinitely in the port terminals of Moin and Limon, through which pass 80% of international trade by the country and the region.

Business leaders from various productive sectors reported losses caused by the strike, while managers of port administration are looking for alternative labour in order to restart the loading and unloading.

Although the $55 million loan to build a port which will accommodate Postpanamax vessels has already been approved, there is still no environmental or financial guarantee to ensure that the resources will be directed towards it.

The problems with ports in Costa Rican could still get worse in the future with the delay of the expansion of the dock at Moin.

Despite the new president having reaffirmed his government's commitment to the project at Moin to be run by the Dutch company APM Terminal, his own lawmakers are supporting the formation of a committee to re-analyze the concession contract.

While President Luis Guillermo Solis is touring the United States looking for investors and providing legal certainty to foreign companies, inside the country space is still being given to obviously bias obstructionism on the part of port official unions. Now it is the sphere of the Legislature where a petition will be filed in an attempt to halt the project.

Lack of adequate port infrastructure, mainly in the Caribbean, is the reason behind the decline in cruise ship arrivals in the past five years.

Although both coasts (Pacific and Caribbean) receive cruise ships at their ports, the one in Limón, in the Caribbean, is the most affected, as cruise goers must walk between trucks and containers when they disembark due to lack of adequate infrastructure.

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O4Bi is a system that allows to control and manage what a company needs: the complete process of development of works, accounts receivable, treasury, banks, sales and accounting.
O4Bi is a very robust system that allows to control and...